


Days Gone By

by StarkidDreamer



Series: It Was a Thursday [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Jane, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-17
Updated: 2013-08-05
Packaged: 2017-12-20 12:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/887150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarkidDreamer/pseuds/StarkidDreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been three years since Darcy Lewis vanished on a sunny March day in 2012. Now Darcy just stumbled back into Jane's life leaving more questions about her sudden reappearance than answers. Where had Darcy been, why was she back now, how had she located Jane, and what are her intentions now that she's back?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'ed again by the lovely http://archiveofourown.org/users/overcastthursday  
> Any other mistakes are very clearly my own but yo should go check her out!

All was silent for one solid minute as Jane stared awestruck at the brunette woman standing in the door to Stark Industries. Jane’s mouth hung open for a moment, fishlike and wide. “Darcy?” Jane finally choked out, surging forward to guide the girl into the building and out of the torrential downpour. Darcy made no response, head hung low with her hair chopped into a short facsimile of what it had once been dripping against her angular face. Jane was a full two inches shorter than Darcy which put her at an advantage in this case. Her head dipped down to try to catch Darcy’s eyes but they seemed to be pinched shut and hidden in the soaking locks of her ruined brunette hair. Darcy seemed unhurt but Jane brought her hands up anyways. She brushed the hair from Darcy’s face and tilted it up so she could get a good look at her.

Darcy’s skin was as pale as a lot of the S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists and tech guys were from spending every waking moment in their lab and not in any place that they could possibly get sun. She was thinner to the point of losing some of her curves and had a sallow coloring to her skin. It was clear she was unhealthy but otherwise free of any bruises, breaks, or cuts. She was alive and that should have been all that mattered.

But it wasn’t.

Jane’s mind was whirring a mile a minute as she tried not to think of all the horrible things that could have happened to Darcy while she was away. “Hey, Foster!” Tony yelled as he came out of the executive elevator. He had some sort of device in one hand and a greasy towel in the other. His eyes caught sight of the brunette and one of his brows popped up before he jogged over to the two. ”Who’s your friend?” he asked, gesturing with what looked like a piston towards the wet girl.

Jane’s whiskey colored eyes sliced over to Tony once, a clear warning there, before turning back to Darcy. “This is my… this is Darcy Lewis.” Jane murmured as she carted a hand over Darcy’s hair, fluffing the wetness up the way she’d seen Darcy do after a shower. It was almost ritualistic for the astrophysicist.

Tony straightened up at the name, head cocking to the side as he took her in. He didn’t comment for a moment, just scanned the two women interacting. Or the one woman anyways. Jane was tutting around her seemingly catatonic friend. He didn’t know much about this Darcy girl. Just that she’d been Fosters assistant during what was called “The New Mexico Debacle” and she’d gone missing in 2012. Jane refused to talk about her, even fondly. Selvig had to explain to Thor after his second return that the “shieldmaiden” had gone missing. The Director himself had to talk the distraught Thunder God down from mounting a full on war to find her. And here she was, dripping in his lobby with her eyes pinched shut and mouth lightly parted as if catching the water dripping from her hair.

“Right, come on, let’s get her upstairs.” he suggested as soon as he realized that they were, in fact, standing in the lobby. Tony gripped Darcy’s shoulder and guided the two of them to the executive elevator, ushering the girls along until the ding of the elevator door closing allowed him to relax at least slightly. Surprisingly Darcy made no resistance to the hand on her shoulder or the guidance. Her eyes had finally opened too, a steely blue shade that Jane used to call “Gunmetal Blue” when describing the girl to her friends. But that had been before the disappearance.

That had been before a lot of things.

The elevator door opened up and Tony continued to usher the girls out of the elevator and into the residential floor of the Tower. Pepper was busy in Moscow and Thor had returned to Asgard for a brief visit to the Allfather but a few of the Avengers were still lurking around the tower.

Tony guided Jane and Darcy into the living area. Bruce was sitting in a lush recliner, one leg tugged up under him and the other propped up, book resting against his knee. The others were nowhere to be found though, which was often the case with Natasha and Clint anyways so that was no surprise. Bruce looked up from his book, eyes sliding above his glasses, then looked back down without much of a thought. His eyes immediately snapped back up as he processed what was happening though. Tony guided Darcy to a chair and sat her down while Bruce got to his feet, tentatively setting his book down before rushing over to the group. “What’s wrong?” he asked, seeming to interpret the situation immediately with little information.

“This is Darcy.” Tony said in an almost flippant tone. Anyone else would have assumed he was being dismissive with the carelessness of his tone but Bruce knew better. Tony was focused. Eyes narrowed and tongue poking out between his teeth in concentration, kneeling before the girl. Bruce’s shoulders squared as he bent to check the girl over.

Bruce recognized the name as one he’d heard in passing. Jane sometimes mentioned her just before a shadow would cross her face and she’d shut down, closing off from Bruce and anyone else who tried to pry her into a conversation. On days like those Jane would call up Erik Selvig and the two would get stone drunk, sometimes arriving late the next day.

Bruce could tell that Darcy was unwell, his instincts kicking in. His hand went down, gripping her wrist gently to take her pulse while his head dipped to check her pupils. It took him a moment to realize that Tony had answered his question without actually answering it.

Darcy remained perfectly still as Bruce looked her over, hands working steady against her skin and clothing. Jane refused to leave her side so it was Tony, feeling unusually useless in this situation, who’d gone to get her something dry to wear.

Jane helped Darcy up after a cursory examination by Doctor Banner and helped her change into something clean and dry. Darcy had never been able to fit into Jane’s tops before, her chest being too large to fit into a medium, but Jane’s shirt fit her well enough that Jane felt a little sick. Darcy had clearly lost weight, now that she was looking at her without her bulky sweater on. Jane’s jeans fit a little too tightly on her hips and her shirt stretched around her chest but the clothes fit. Jane worried her lip between her teeth at the weight loss. It hit her like a ton of bricks then. Darcy had been missing. Darcy had been missing for three years. Weight loss could be the least of her worries.

Jane lead Darcy back out into the living room where Natasha had made an appearance, arms crossed and hip cocked. Her hair had grown out a bit, trailing in red rings down to just past her shoulders. She was intently watching the procession with narrowed and wary eyes.

“Food,” Jane said in the same distracted voice she used when she was paying more attention to what she wanted then what she actually needed. She didn’t need to elaborate for Bruce to shuffle into the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later with a granola bar. “Peanut butter?” she half asked and Bruce checked the label.

“No, I could go get some if she pre-” Bruce began but Jane shook her head, cutting him off by grabbing the bar and breaking it in half, gently offering half to Darcy. Darcy’s hands lifted, eyeing the food dubiously before chewing it.

“Darcy’s allergic to peanuts.” Jane replied curtly as the once mouthy poli-sci major munched on the granola bar. “Deathly. Can’t even be in the same room as one without having some sort of reaction.”

“Oh.” his hand withered and dropped to his side as he made the mental note to toss out anything with peanuts in the house. Jane watched Darcy before giving her the second half. Natasha, who’d remained silent the whole time, cleared her throat to get Jane’s attention. Jane whipped around and crossed her arms over her chest. Jane and Natasha didn’t exactly dislike each other but they did have a difference of opinion. Jane respected the woman for it but they didn’t talk often.

“I’ve sent the Director a message. Someone should be here to pick her up in a few minutes.”

Jane stared agape at the assassin for a long moment, almost irrationally angry at her. Jane knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to be contacted. That there was an ongoing investigation around Darcy and that she’d need to be debriefed. She knew all of this but she couldn’t help the flare of anger that burst from her when she realized that S.H.I.E.L.D. would immediately take Darcy away. She was upset that she wouldn’t at least get a little more time with her before she was whisked off. Jane stamped the feeling down though and nodded her head.

“Right, of course.” she grumbled through pursed lips. Darcy had finished her granola bar and was looking up at Jane expectantly when Bruce reached out, extending another bar. Darcy’s hand snaked forward and yanked it from his fingers with a surprising speed that caused the Doctor to yank his hand back instantly and stare, eyes blinking, at the girl. _Woman,_ he reminded himself. S.H.I.E.L.D. sent a few agents to collect Darcy, Jane trailing along with them.

“Miss. Foster. You can’t come with us.” one of the agents said quickly as soon as he’d realized Jane’s intent was.

“Listen, I can lift a nuke. I have a suit downstairs that can stop Bruce when he’s on a tempter tantrum, and I doubt _I_ could keep Foster from going with you guys.” Tony piped in, arms crossed over the glow in his chest. The agent turned and looked back at the room, seeming to just realize that he was standing in the room with, and count them, four of the Avengers. Clint, at some point, had perched himself in the corner of the room to watch as the agents did their work. The agent blinked before sighing and gesturing for Jane to follow him.

They arrived at headquarters fairly quickly and Darcy was separated from Jane to do a full medical work up. Jane spent the next few hours just out of reach of one of her best friends as she was shuffled through S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol.

Jane found herself becoming increasingly uncomfortable as time went by, one thing continually running through her head. Darcy, loud and mouthy Darcy, hadn’t spoken a single word or made a single sound since Jane had seen her shuffling in the front door of Stark Industries. She wondered idly how Darcy had found her in this condition, two thousand miles from Puente Antiguo, but the silence was what weighed on her most. Something was clearly wrong with Darcy Lewis and Jane would find out what.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is quite literally the worst chapter ever. I didn't even want to type it but I had to to get on with the story. It's boring and annoying and I HAVE NO BETA FOR IT. All mistakes are mine and I apologize but I couldn't bring myself to wait any longer to post it. Enjoy (Or don't... just put up with me while I type chapter three.)

Jane had seen a lot of things. She’d met life from another planet and helped establish a real Einstein Rosen bridge. Jane had survived not one but two intergalactic wars. She lived with a super soldier, two geniuses, and two highly trained assassins, not to mention one Pepper Potts. None of that had prepared her for what was to come. Darcy was admitted to private medical and psyche was called before anything else happened. Jane tried to follow after Darcy but a man, presumably a Doctor, pressed his hands to her shoulders to hold her back. “Look, Miss. Foster, we’re going to do everything we can for her but you have to wait.”

“Doctor.”

“I’m sorry what?” The Doctor asked in return, not releasing her shoulders from his firm grip.

“ _Doctor_ Foster.” she repeated as she squared her shoulders in a way that not so discreetly shook his hands off. “Not only am I a Medical Doctor, I also have a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. I am a Doctor.” there was a touch of venom in her voice as she advanced on the man. “I expect to be treated with the same amount of respect as you and I _will_ be going in there.” Tony hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told that Agent that they wouldn’t be stopping Jane from seeing Darcy.

Jane stayed with Darcy through her cursory examination but Darcy was going to go through a more thorough exam. She was going to be getting X-Rayed and scanned in every way possible. Jane was determined to be by her side at all times but she knew she couldn’t be in with her getting her x-rays so she waited. Patiently. She wasn’t sure how exactly it had happened but she found herself surrounded by various members of the team. She was pretty sure Bruce was the first one to trickle in. Tony was next. Clint and Natasha had arrived either together or so close together that nobody had noticed separate arrivals. The last one was probably Steve, whom had been out of town for the last week. Jane was a little surprised at seeing the soldier arrive. Thor was unreachable in Asgard for the time being but Jane wasn’t sure that that was such a bad thing. The door opened, Jane popping to her feet instantly and walking over to the Doctor that stepped out. It was like a funeral procession.

The Doctor looked startled at the group but, to his record, rolled with it. Jane was just glad she’d had the support. “She’s seeing the psychiatrist now. There doesn’t seem to be anything physically wrong with her. She had some unusual brain waves but otherwise she slightly malnourished.”

“She has a history...” Jane started and the Doctor shook his head.

“This is recent. Past few years. Depending on what the psychiatrist says... you can probably take her home today. She’ll be under surveillance for a while though.”

“She’s talking though? She’s actually talking? She didn’t say anything when we were at the Tower.” The Doctor shook his head then left the room quietly. People came and went for the next few hours but Jane remained a fixed spot in the waiting room. There wasn’t much else she could do. The clock read three forty five, Jane wasn’t sure if it was morning or night, when Darcy was lead into the waiting room.

She’d been cleaned up. Her skin was clean and she wasn’t wearing the same clothes. She'd been stripped of the one's Jane had wrangled the nearly catatonic girl into earlier. She was wearing a pair of scrubs one of the Doctors had provided. Jane took a second to look her over before she wrapped her arm firmly around the former Ploi-Sci major. “Can I take her home now?”

“We aren’t sure where her mental state is right now, Doctor Foster. Usually we wouldn’t allow... Ms. Lewis was involved in the New Mexico Debacle. We don’t know if she was taken and gave information about what had happened. We don’t know what happened to her. She won’t speak at all. Usually we wouldn’t be releasing her until we made sure she wasn’t a threat-”

“ _Threat_?” Jane squeaked and pulled Darcy closer, tucking Darcy’s head down into her shoulder. Darcy was pliant in her arms, moving how Jane wanted her. It was a little worrying, to be honest.

“But-” The Doctor interrupted as his eyes scanned the suddenly silent room. Jane glanced back and internally winced. It certainly was an intimidating group of people that had gathered to support her. “I’m comfortable releasing her to you provided she comes in for sessions and she not be allowed to leave the city until further notice. She’s on thin ice right now.”

Jane found herself wanting to protest but quelled it as she glanced down at Darcy. Darcy’s blue eyes were focused on Jane’s face. “Fine. Let’s go.” Jane insisted. She was the first one out the door, glancing back only once. 

Darcy was silent the entire way back to the Tower but Tony made up for it by chattering away the whole time. She couldn’t really complain since he’d offered them both a ride home and he was breaking the tension filled silence around them by talking about some of the most mind numbingly mundane things he could probably think of at the time. When they arrived Jane opened the door for Darcy whom scrambled out and hovered near Jane. It was nearing four, in the morning Jane noted, by the time they were collapsing into the couch in the main living area. Jane gave herself a moment of relaxation before getting to her feet and moving to the kitchen.

She dug for a pop tart, chocolate, Darcy’s favorite, then turned back to walk into the living room and hand it to her. Darcy, without Jane realizing, had followed her in on silent feet. Jane let out a yelp, nearly dropping the pop tart, before clutching at her chest. She let out an annoyed huff and handed Darcy the pop tart. “I want to watch you eat it, Darcy.” Jane said firmly. Darcy licked her bottom lip, the skin split and chapped, then slowly took to eating the Pop Tart. Jane lead Darcy back into the living room, turning to Tony. “She’s staying. My room.” he looked like he was about to speak but Jane cut that off with a wave of her hand. “I want her in my room tonight. The rest we can figure out as we go.”

Darcy finished with her pop tart so Jane handed her the second from the package. Nobody seemed to want to argue with Jane as she lead Darcy around like a stray puppy. She guided Darcy back to her bedroom. “Let’s get you into something... warmer.” Jane said, a determined air to her voice. She tugged the Scrubs off of Darcy before holding out her warmest pajama bottoms to Darcy. Darcy regarded them for a moment before she pulled the clothes on. “Right. That’s great. Now lay down, I know you’re tired.” Darcy crawled onto the bed and Jane yanked the blanket up, arranging it around Darcy. Jane then crawled into bed next to her. Darcy nuzzled in close to Jane and was asleep within minutes. Jane doubted she’d be able to sleep at all but eventually found herself drifting to sleep with her best friend in her arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for putting up with that travesty! The next chapter will be more Darcy centric so yay! Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure, at this point, if I'm going to include the romance in this that I had originally intended. The chances are that this will end up remaining a hurt/comfort firendship fic. I do want to make this a Darcy/Bruce fic though so stay tuned for that possibility.


End file.
